1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a closure device for a support structure that is, e.g., an area of the outer contour of an aircraft that can be opened and closed for the purpose of access.
2. Discussion of Background Information
In aircraft, such closure devices are provided, in particular, as hatches for maintenance and inspection purposes, as a radome, as a passenger or cargo compartment door, or for a similar purpose. If such a closure device is provided for maintenance or inspection purposes, it is often necessary for it to be possible for these parts of the outer contour to be opened and closed more or less quickly, which is the case anyway with a passenger or cargo compartment door. It is thereby essential, in particular, if the aircraft is a high-speed aircraft, that the aerodynamic outer contour is only slightly impaired thereby and that the mechanical connection to the rest of the structure of the aircraft reliably withstands the operating loads occurring.
Very different solutions have hitherto been realized for such closure devices, whereby most of the mechanisms comprise hinge elements and locking elements of different types. Depending on the required opening angle of the closure device, and the necessity of integrating it into the structure of the aircraft as a supporting element, very solid hinges sometimes result. The closure devices are often embodied by locking elements in the form of hooks or shear pins.
If the aircraft is a combat aircraft, expensive measures are often taken to damp the radar reflection values in the area of the closure devices, i.e., at the hinge, the lock and at gaps or steps at the transition between the closure device and the rest of the outer skin of the aircraft. Moreover, these locations are more or less responsible for aerodynamic resistance and thus for the fuel consumption of the aircraft.